Article for children to wear to assist in curing bedwetting



Jan. 4, 1955 Filed Jan. 25, 1951 G. ARTICLE F0 E. EVENSTAD R CHILDREN TO WEAR TO ASSIST IN CURING BEDWETTING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 6 8405 E. EVE/V5740 United States Patent F ARTICLE FOR CHILDREN TO WEAR TO ASSIST IN CURIVG BEDWETTING Grace E. Evenstad, Wilmette, Ill. I Application January 23, 1951, Serial No. 207,331 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-138) My invention relates to an article for use to assist children and others in curing or curbing embarrassing habits and for similar uses.

My invention relates more particularly to an article for use in curing bedwetting.

While pediatricians generally have prescribed various drugs and other medicines for children who become addicted to this habit, the general results of medical treatment alone are unsatisfactory. Experiments with various ages of boys and girls conducted by various doctors throughout the country with applicants article and method of using the same have all been successful in breaking and eliminating the habit of bed-wetting.

I have found by observation and test that bed-wetting generally occurs about twice a night, once around midnight and then again early in the morning. I further found that just prior to the accident the children become nervous, stir restlessly and flex their fingers. Therefore I reasoned that if some assistance was given to waken the child, he or she would get up and go to the bathroom.

With this object in mind, I have developed the article to which this application relates, an article adapted to be fastened in the hand of a child to assist the child in awakening whenever the urge to urinate arises.

Before beginning the use of the proposed article it is well to prepare the child psychologically for the treatment and use of the device. To this end the article is preferably constructed to resemble an owl, the thought suggested being that owls do not sleep nights so they are lolgical companions to watch over a person while he is as eep.

One embodiment of the preferred construction of the same is shown on the accompanying drawings, upon which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the article fastened in the palm of the hand of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the body of the device taken generally on line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a view of the back of the hand of the wearer showing one manner of fastening the device in place.

As can be seen from the drawings, the device generally consists of a flat plate having the outline of an owl, being also provided with the face 12, eyes 14 and upstanding ear portions 16. The plate is preferably formed of white plastic treated with luminous paint so that after exposure to the light it will glow a considerable length of time in the dark.

Means for fastening the plate securely in the palm of the childs hand are provided, said means including a cord such as a shoe lace 20, a wrist strap 22, and a connector 24 fastened between the strap 22 and a slot 26 to which the end 28 of the connector is fastened. A plurality of eyelets 30 on the connector cooperate with snap fastener 32 to adjust the length of the same to suit the size of the users hand.

The shoe lace 20 is adapted to be threaded through the spaced openings 36, about the two middle fingers of the wearer and then around both sides of the hand back from the bottom of plate 10 through spaced openings 38. The ends of the shoe lace are then brought back over the hand (see Fig. 3) and both ends are passed through a loop 40 in a short connector member 42 and tied through the loop of the lace fastened around the two middle fingers. The connector 42 is slidable upon the wrist band 22.

With the construction described the article is firmly secured to the palm of the hand so that when the child is asleep any normal or usual movement Wlll not (118- lodge the ow from the palm of the chllds hand. The plate 10 thus extends near to the end of the ch lds fingers and tends to hold them out in a straight line. Then when the fingers try to flex they meet this obstacle and help to wake the child. The child is also instructed to watch for this signal. In addition, the glow of the luminous paint on the owl causes it to loom up before the childs eyes; this usually finishes the awakening process and the child will promptly arise and go to the bathroom.

The plan of using this article should be presented to the child by the mother in an interesting way so that he will have an understanding of his problem and what he wants to achieve, and will be anxious to cooperate pleasantly on it. His diflicult problem is learning to wake up, and when he establishes a habit of waking up by himself and his mother stops picking him up, he will be released from her and the habit, too. He must not be picked up at night after he starts with the owl, and will know the progress he makes is his own.

The child should be awakened with the help of the owl once or more the first few nights. When the ability to awaken himself has been established the intervals of waking will be farther apart until he goes all night without needing to getup. At first the owl helps to give the child the ability to wake up, which is later transferred to the ability to hold without getting up. Soon his bladder has expanded to the normal size for his age and he can go through the night without getting up. He will retain the ability to get up when necessary and be free of the habit. Because bed-wettting is often of long duration, the child should be watched and helped for four months to firmly establish the dry habit. All things that have caused excess wetting in the past should be avoided. He should not be picked up again. Any occasional accidents should be overlooked and he should be given pleasant cooperation and encouragement as he needs it.

The owl should be worn all night for two weeks on the palm of the hand the child uses most. If for any reason it is uncomfortable on one hand it may be changed to the other. It should be tied on by the mother the last thing at night and put away in the morning. It should not be used as a plaything, but remain in the childs mind as a symbol of waking up with a dry bed. After two weeks the child should be able to keep his bed dry without it. After four months the child should be able to drink as much as he likes at bedtime or get off his schedule in any way and still keep his bed dry.

From the above and foregoing description it can be seen that I have devised a highly practical device for use in curing the habit of bed-wettting or similar embarrassing habits. Chronic sleep-walkers would unquestionably be benefitted by this device in that its presence in the palm of the hand would assist materially in awakening them either as; soon as they attempted to arise or immediately therea ter.

The simplicity of the construction and use bring the device within reach of people in all walks of life and with a little cooperation on the part of a parent or other related individual the habits mentioned can be easily broken.

While I have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of the invention it will of course be understood that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown and I do not wish to limit myself in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An article to be worn by a child to cure the habit of bed-wetting comprising a flat rigid plate member simulating an owl, said plate member having means thereon for fastening the same in the palm of the hand of the wearer, the plate member being of such size that when in position the fingers are held straightened out and cannot be flexed, said means for fastening including a shoe lace threaded through pairs of holes in said plate member and looped about the wearers fingers, a wrist band and a connector between said plate member and said wrist band, said plate member constructed of plastic having luminous paint therein whereby it glows in the dark.

PatentedJan. 4, 1955 2. An article to be worn by a child to cure the habit of bed-wetting comprising a flat rigid plate member simulating an owl, said plate member having means thereon for fastening the same in the palm of the hand of the wearer, the plate member being of a size so that the front edge of the same is at the first joint of, the fingers and the back edge rests in the palm of the hand so that when in position the fingers are held straightened out and cannot be flexed, said means for fastening including a shoe lace threaded through pairs of holes in said platemember and looped about the wearers fingers, a wrist band and a connector between said plate member and said wrist band, said plate member constructed of plastic having luminous paint therein whereby it glows in the dark.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNIT ED STATES PATENTS 1,244,065 Miller Oct. 23, 1,313,017 Rose et a1. Aug. 12, 1,402,382 Shailer Jan. 3, 1,492,343 Abrams et al. Apr. 29, 1,523,900 Rittenhouse Jan. 20, 1,865,280 Risley June 28, 2,046,080 McClellan June 30, 2,498,122 Haniuk Feb. 21, 2,586,608 Bryson Feb. 19,

OTHER REFERENCES 88-91, Oct. 1948. 

